Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA)

Architectural Competition Guidelines

Content

Preface

Purpose

Guidelines

Registration Procedure

Model Form s

Schedule1

Schedule2

Schedule 3

Schedule 4

Schedule 5

Schedule6

Preface

Architectural Competitions have a long history, and have produced many extremely successful

buildings. They attract great public interest, and have led to the discovery of new talent and new

ideas, that could only be found by throwing an architectural project wide open to competition.

The Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) Competition Guidelines provide a new up-to-date

code that safeguards the interests of promoters and of architects, and bring the system into line

with present-day conditions.

To many clients - the choice of an architect presents no difficulty, but to many others the choice

is not easy. The client's desire to see the sketch designs of several architects before he

commissions him is understandable, but to ask an architect to submit a sketch design is to ask

him to do the essential creative work for which he should be properly paid. If more than one or

two architects are commissioned payment to each would be expensive. Architects, however, are

allowed to compete against each other without charging a fee in an open architectural

competition held under Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) Guidelines.

The architectural competition is a balance of advantages. Architects who would not have been

considered in the normal way for an important commission, perhaps for a building of national

importance have an opportunity to prove their talent and ability.

Many architects regard competitions as a valuable opportunity for research, perhaps for the

study of a new building type, or for exploring the possibilities of new technical ideas and for

gaining new experience. On the other hand, the profession's willingness to allow its members to

compete without fee is a remarkable concession to the promoter without parallel in any other

profession.

For the promoter also, there is balance of advantages. A competition will cost him a little more

than if he had commissioned an architect privately and it will take a little more time. But this

must be balanced against the chance to draw upon the talents of all those who respond to the

architectural challenge, and the possibility than an outstanding design will emerge. He is making

a public demonstration that he cares about architecture, and can take legitimate pride in his

determination to find the best architect and the best design he can get. He will be rewarded with

a greater public interest than is generally shown in new buildings.

Competition Guidelines as laid by the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) protects and

safeguards the interest of both the promoter and the competitors. While ensuring the promoter a

design of high standard, it also ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions and

within the same limitations.

The purpose of these Guidelines is to explain the architectural competitions system, and to help

the client who is thinking of promoting a competition to make up his mind whether a competition

is the right answer to his architectural problem, and, if so, which kind of competition would be

suitable. It also tells, a would be promoter how competitions are organised, and what are the

responsibilities of promoter.

Purpose

Architectural Competitions give the promoters a choice from the best viable project of high

standard with a variety of approaches.

Competition brings out a wide range of ideas and concepts and gives the promoter the choice of

selecting that which fits into his specific requirements.

One of the principal aims of the competition is to explore hidden talents among younger

Architects. To many competitors, it often is the first step to a successful career.

Competition Guidelines as laid down by the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) protect and

safeguard the interests both of the promoter and the competitor.

While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard and adjudged as such by prominent

Architects acting as Assessors, it also ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions

and within the same limitations.

Both the promoter and the competitor are assured by these guidelines that the entries will be

judged only by those who are qualified to interpret the competitors' presentations and to judge if

the design selected meets with the promoter's requirements.

The guidelines therefore lay considerable emphasis on the mandatory requirement of Assessors

and the qualifications.

The appointment of the Assessors should therefore be the immediate and first step the moment

the promoter decides to go in for a competition. The President of the Society of Nepalese

Architects (SONA), if so requested by the promoter, may suggest a panel of names experienced

in this type of project proposed, for appointment as Assessors. Their responsibilities commence

with the approval of the brief of the competition project. The Assessor may even help to prepare

the brief.

For practical reasons, this responsibility is often taken by the Senior Assessor who would then

be available to advise the promoter on all matters connected with the competition from the

promoter's decision to hold the competition till the final award.

Briefly the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) will:

1. Assist in the preparation and approval of the brief.

2. Study and understand the requirements of the Local Authorities

3. Visit and examine the project site, if necessary.

4. Advise on the appointment of the Technical Advisers, if necessary.

5. Finalise the competition conditions.

6. Prepare the final report/award.

The project brief is the most important document. The success of the competition will depend

upon the clarity and the completeness of the brief. This can be achieved by a very close

cooperation between the Promoters and the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) in the

preparation and finalisation of the brief.

Further the participation of the Assessors in the preparation of the brief will enable them to

understand fully the intent of the promoter. Also as qualified Architects they would be capable of

visualizing the development with reference to the promoter's requirements, site conditions etc.

and in interpreting the competition entries in these terms.

For complicated projects such as Hospitals, Airports etc. which are under constant development

or projects encompassing highly technical elements, a Technical Adviser would be considered

necessary in the initial stage to help the Promoter and the Assessors to draw up the brief and

subsequently to advise the Assessors on the technical aspect of the competition entries.

Once the promoter's requirements, the site conditions, the requirements of the local authorities

etc. have been formulated into the competition brief, the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) can

advise the promoter on the type of competition that should be promoted.

Schedule 1 of the Competition Guidelines describes in detail the types of competitions, which

could be adopted and successfully conducted.

The conditions for Architectural competition given in Schedule 3 specifies the procedure to be

followed by the promoter for conducting competitions and these conditions have been drawn up

to ensure that each competitor competes on similar conditions, that the selection is based

entirely on merit, that in appreciation of the effort that would be put in by each competitor

suitable and adequate prize monies and honoraria are assured, that anonymity of the

competitor is maintained during the competition and that each competitor enjoys Copyright and

Right of Ownership.

Response from well-established Architects as well as large number of young Architects to an

open competition can best be assured by wide publicity. This is all the more essential for

projects which are of public interest.

Publicity could begin with the invitation of Architects to participate through widely read media.

This could be followed by press conferences and finally by the publication of the Assessor's

report and public exhibition of all the entries.

Guidelines

INTRODUCTION

These guidelines have been drawn up in the interest of both the promoter and the competitor

and to ensure that the architectural competitions are properly conducted and that selection of

the design will be on merit alone and will satisfy the promoter's requirements.

GUIDELINES:

Article 1: Eligibility to compete:

Participation in any and all competitions shall be open to:

1. Architect or a team led by an architect registered with the Society of Nepalese Architects

(SONA) on the date of the competition and thereafter are allowed to participate in all

competitions as indicated in Schedule-1.

2. Students of an Institution, with affiliation to a recognized university are allowed to participate

in idea competitions as indicated in Schedule 1.

3. Neither the Promoter of the competition, jury members engaged for the competition nor any

of their associate, partner or employee shall compete, assist a competitor or act as an

architect or joint architect for the competition project.

Competitor may be requested to submit a proof of qualification, copy of his/ her valid

registration certificate issued by the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) and in case of a

student, a certificate from the head of his/her institution.

Article 2: Competition

1. The word 'Competition' shall apply to any competition described in Schedule 1 and

participation shall be open only to those qualified as per Article 1.

2. The conditions of competitions including time table, registration fees, prize

monies/honoraria, the jury members, the programme etc. of competitions shall have been

finalised within the framework of the guidelines prescribed by the Society of Nepalese

Architects (SONA) before any announcement is made by the promoter of the competition.

3. The conditions of the competitions shall clearly provide all necessary information required to

conduct the competition

• Type of Competition.

• Purpose of the competition and intentions of the promoter.

• Nature of the problem to be solved.

• All practical and mandatory requirements to be met by the competitors.

• Number, nature, scale and dimensions of the documents, plan and/or models.

• Estimates if required in standard form issued with the conditions.

• Nature of prizes.

• Names of jury members

4. The competition shall be conducted in English.

5. All competition designs shall be submitted anonymously.

Article 3: The Jury:

The jury shall at all times include architects who are registered with the Society of Nepalese

Architects (SONA) and shall be in a majority of at least one. In case of requirement of

international architects in the jury members, that shall be on the recommendation of SONA

Executive Committee. The jury members must fulfil the minimum qualifications as defined in

Schedule 2.

Article 4: Prizes, Honoraria and mentions:

No competition shall be conducted without adequate premium/honoraria and the competition

conditions and the media announcements must state the amounts and number of prizes for the

open competition and the amount of premium or honorarium to each competitor in a limited

competition and in the second stage of a two stage competition.

Article 5: Copyright and right of ownership:

i. Each competitor shall retain copyright in his/her own competition design.

ii. Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his/her own competition design.

iii. The promoter shall have the right to use the winning design for one time execution only.

Any use of the other submitted designs by the promoter is only allowed with written consent of

the respective competitor.

Article 6: Public Exhibition

All competition designs including those disqualified by the jury shall be exhibited for at least one

week, together with a copy of the signed report of the jury members. The exhibition shall be

open to public free of charge.

Registration procedure

The applicants must be provided with all necessary information on content and procedures to

allow them to assess whether or not they are going to compete.

Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) recommends a three parts procedure:

PART I

A descriptive leaflet and / or an advertisement are placed in general and professional media.

These should include the following information:

1. Name of the Promoter

2. Purpose and nature of the competition. This should be carefully worded to give a clear idea

of the scope of the project whether it is a project or an ideas competition, single or 2 stage

competition and the type of material that a competitor would be asked to submit.

3. The prizes (or honoraria)

5. Persons eligible to compete

6. An approximate time table

7. The procedure for registration, the last date for registration and the date by which the

competition conditions would be made available by the promoter.

Copies of this leaflet with a registration form attached (see model form) should be available

from the promoter.

PART II

An application will be submitted to SONA by the participants within the stipulated deadline which

would include the registration form and necessary documents proving eligibility of the

participants. SONA is responsible to stamp the date and time of receiving.

The registration is only complete when SONA accepts the competitor's eligibility prepared by

placing his/her name on the competition register and informs him/her in writing accordingly.

PART III

The competition condition will be sent to the applicant by SONA only when his/her eligibility is

established and his/her name is entered in the competition register. If an applicant is found to be

ineligible, the submitted registration documents would need to be refunded.

REGISTRATION FORM – other than for students

Title of Competition (Enter name of project and location)

(All entries in block letters)

Registration number (of Team leader):

.............................................................................................

Competitor (s)/ Name (s)

(Team leader1) Mr. / Ms....................................................................... (Surname) (1st Name) (2nd Name)

(2) Mr. / Ms. ..................................................................... ( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)

(3) Mr. / Ms ....................................................................... ( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)

Address: (of team leader)

.................................................................................................

.................................................................................................

.................................................................................................

Registration fee of NRS …………… has been submitted as per competition guidelines

Declaration : (To be signed by the team leader)

I declare that at the time of application to register for the competition, I was registered with the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) and that the registration with the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) will be maintained, till the award of the jury and thereafter till the completion of the project if I am declared and appointed as the Architect for the project.

Signature....................................................

Date...........................................................

Notes:

i. Registration is not transferable.

REGISTRATION FORM – for students registering for ideas competition

Title of Competition (Enter name of project and location)

(All entries in block letters)

Name of Educational Institution:

.............................................................................................

Year of Study.........................................................

Competitor (s)/ Name (s)

(Team leader1) Mr. / Ms....................................................................... (Surname) (1st Name) (2nd Name)

(2) Mr. / Ms. ..................................................................... ( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)

(3) Mr. / Ms ....................................................................... ( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)

Address: (of team leader)

.................................................................................................

.................................................................................................

.................................................................................................

Registration fee of NRS …………… has been submitted as per competition guidelines

Declaration : (To be signed by the team leader)

I declare that at the time of application to register

I was studying Architecture in the____________ (indicate year of study) year of Architecture

at the __________________________(Indicate name of educational institution)

Signature....................................................

Date...........................................................

Notes:

i. Registration is not transferable.

ii. Ideas competitions: Students may register either individually or in team with other students.

iii. Two Stage and Single Stage competitions: Students are not permitted to register and may therefore only participate in association with an accredited architect.

Schedule 1

Type of Competitions

1. PROJECT AND IDEAS COMPETITIONS

Competitions may be either "Projects" or "Ideas" competitions or in certain

circumstances a combination of both. The aim of a ‘Project Competition is to find the

best solution for an actual building project and to appoint its author to carry out the

commission. An Ideas Competition is used to elucidate certain aspects of architectural

and town planning problems. Since an ‘Ideas Competition’ does not lead to a concrete

project that is implemented, students of architecture may participate at the discretion of

the promoter.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIONS

(I) OPEN COMPETITIONS

Competitions in which all architects are invited to participate through an announcement

by advertisements in suitable media and through circulars which may be issued by the

promoters.

(II) LIMITED COMPETITIONS FOR COMPETITIONS BY INVITATION

Competitions in which a limited number of architects (usually 5 to 8) selected by the

promoter on recommendation of the advisor and jury members, are invited to participate.

Each participant who submits his/her designs shall receive an honorarium.

(III) SPECIAL COMPETITIONS

Besides competitions described in (i) and (ii) above, a competition may also combine

town planning as well as design problems, and may involve the use of industrial

components or participation of developers. In such competitions participation may be

required to be limited to professionals or group of professionals with certain definite

expertise.

In such cases the competition announcement shall clearly define the field of expertise.

3. COMPETITION ORGANISATION

Competitions may be organised in one or two stages.

(I) SINGLE STAGE COMPETITION

In single stage competition the competition entries shall be fairly complete drawings i.e.

plans, section, elevations, etc. to a suitable scale and sufficient to explain the scheme as

set out in the competition conditions.

The designs so submitted shall be assessed by the jury for the award of the prizes and

the appointment of the architect.

Such competitions are recommended for small and simple project.

(II) TWO STAGE COMPETITIONS

In two stage competition, the first stage is for soliciting ideas and therefore the

competition entries at this stage would be limited to planning on broad basis and

drawings to a suitable scale sufficient to indicate the intentions of the competitor.

Designs submitted in the first stage shall be assessed by the jury for selecting a small

number of competitors (between 5 and 10). The author of these selected designs will be

invited to take part in the second stage of the competition, and each architect so invited

would be paid a specified sum, other than the final prize money.

In order to maintain anonymity, each competitor will be informed individually whether

he/she has been or has not been invited to participate in the second stage.

Correspondence in this respect will be the responsibility of the promoter or professional

adviser, if appointed. It will also be his/her responsibility to ensure that the names of

those invited and those rejected are not revealed either to the jury or to any other

person.

To ensure this anonymity the envelopes containing the names of the competitors shall

be opened by the promoter or professional adviser (if appointed). After the intimation has

been sent to each competitor they shall be re sealed until the final award.

After the end of the first stage, the jury, may, if found necessary and with the approval of

the promoter, clarify or amplify points in the competition conditions for the benefit of the

second stage competitors. Such clarification or amplification shall not in any way

disclose directly or indirectly or even inadvertently any of the designs submitted in the

first stage to those invited for the second stage.

The period between the jury award for the first stage and submission of designs for the

second stage shall not exceed six months. Only under exceptional circumstances may

this period may be extended.

The second stage of the competition may be limited to only a part of the subject dealt

with in the first stage.

Members of the jury shall be the same for first stage and second stage of the

competition.

The designs submitted for both the first stage and the second stage shall be exhibited

and/or published only after the final award of the second stage competition.

If any design selected for the second stage is published or exhibited before the final

award of the second stage has been declared, it will be disqualified.

Two stage competitions are recommended for town planning and for large scale or

complex projects.

III. SPECIAL CATEGORY COMPETITIONS

This type of competition is intended for small projects of charitable organisations in

which four to six local firms will compete for the appointment as the Architect.

No premiums are given and the winner shall be appointed to carry out the project.

Schedule 2

Jury members and advisers

(I) Jury members

Constitution of the jury: the jury will be constituted of an odd number of members with a

majority of registered architects. One Senior Architect will be identified to assist in

coordinating and advising.

For appointment as jury member, he/she shall have the following minimum

qualifications:

1. A practicing architect with minimum 15 years of practical experience

2. An architect involved in teaching for more than 15 years.

3. For a non -architect assessor, 15 years of work record in their respective field.

4. A membership of SONA

Payment to Assessor, technical / professional advisor

The fees/ payments to the jury members shall vary depending upon the size and scale of

the project. So, this subject shall be dealt individually between SONA and the promoter

at the time of agreement.

(II) Technical Adviser

Where appropriate and necessary the promoter shall in consultation with the jury

members (in particular the Senior Architect) and SONA appoint one or more technical

advisers to assist in the preparation of the brief for the competition project and to advise

the competition jury, only when called upon to do so, on the competition design entries.

The advice of the technical adviser will be limited to his/her expertise and he/she will

have no voting rights.

(III) Professional Adviser

For a two stage competition a Professional Adviser who shall be an architect registered

with the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) may be appointed. He/she will not be

connected with the competition jury or attend any of its meetings.

It will be the responsibility of the Professional Adviser to maintain the anonymity of each

competitor and those selected for the second stage of the competition.

On completion of the first stage of the competition the sealed envelopes containing the

names of the competitors shall be opened only by the Professional Adviser if appointed

and he/she shall without disclosing any of the names to anyone inform each competitor

individually whether he/she has or has not been invited for the second stage. All the

envelopes shall then be resealed by the Professional Adviser/ till the final award.

If after the first stage, the competition jury wish to clarify any aspect of the competition

project, such clarification shall be conveyed to the competitors selected for the second

stage only by the Professional Adviser.

If a Professional Advisor is not appointed, these responsibilities would fall with the

promoter directly.

Schedule 3

Conditions for conducting architectural competitions

Careful preparation of the competition conditions including schedule of requirement shall be of

primary importance for the success of the competition and as such adequate time shall be

allowed for this phase of the competition.

1. Contractual obligation

i. The publication of competition shall constitute an offer of a contract by the promoter,

and, by submission of design for the competition, the competitor accepts this contract.

ii. The competition condition together with any replay to the competitor's questions

constitutes a legal basis for this contract which is legally binding on both the promoter

and competitors.

2. General conditions

i. The competition project brief and the conditions of the competition may be prepared by

the promoter in consultation with the Senior Architect Assessor. They shall however be

approved by jury members including the Senior Architect before publication and issue to

the competitors.

ii. The conditions including the programme of requirement of the competition shall be

identical for all competitors. A copy of complete competition conditions shall be filed with

the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA). Answers to the competitor's questions shall

also be sent to the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) for their record.

iii. The conditions shall clearly indicate which of the requirements are mandatory and which

could be freely interpreted by the competitor.

The freedom in case of the latter shall be as wide as possible.

iv. The information supplied to the competitors shall be specific and shall not be open to

misinterpretation. Supplementary information if any issued by the jury shall be sent to all

the competitors simultaneously.

v. Draft of the conditions of competitions approved as per (i) above shall be submitted to

the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) for information before publication and issue

to the competitors.

vi. The conditions of the competition shall indicate the promoter's priorities with reference to

the solution of the problem (e.g. functional aspects, economy of construction or in use,

solution to technical or circulation problems etc).

vii. The condition of the competition shall state the exact use to which the promoter will put

the winning design. Designs shall not be put to any other use or altered in any way

except by agreement with the author.

viii. Where a fixed amount is required to be remitted to the promoters by the applicants for

the 'Conditions of the Competition', it shall be refunded in full to the applicant if he/she

decides not to compete and return the "Conditions of the Competition" in full within four

weeks prior to the date of submission of the design.

Submission of design in Competition shall imply acceptance, by the competitor, of the

conditions of competition.

ix. Each design shall be accompanied by a declaration on the prescribed form signed by

the competitor in a properly sealed envelope that the design is his/her bonafide work and

that the drawings have been prepared under his/her supervision and that he/she

undertakes to accept the award of the jury as final and binding.

x. In case two or more architects form an association for the purpose of the competition

then there shall exist a partnership deed for the purpose of carrying out the project in the

event the said association wins the competition. Reference to this partnership must be

made in the form of declaration.

xi. The jury must make awards which shall be final and binding and shall be made public by

a date stated in the conditions.

xii. The jury when making an award may at its discretion adopt "promoters' choice".

In this procedure the jury shall select not more than three designs which in their opinion

are of equal merit and the selection of the winning design from the designs so selected

by the jury could be made by the promoter.

The promoter may for making the final selection discuss with the authors of the selected

designs their respective entries.

3. Prize money and honoraria

i. The condition for any competition must state the number of prizes and the amount of

each prize money. This must be related to the size of the project, the amount of work

involved for the competitors and the expenses he would incur for the preparation for the

competition.

ii. In ‘Ideas Competition’ and in competitions such as those for town planning, where

subsequently the work is generally carried out by official bodies, it is particularly

important to allot adequate prize money to re-compensate the competitors for the ideas

and the work they have done.

iii. The promoter shall undertake to accept the decision of the jury and to pay the prize

monies within one month of the announcement of the competition results.

iv. Each participant in a limited competition (or competition by invitation) shall receive an

honorarium.

v. In a two stage competition a reasonable honorarium shall be paid to each of the

competitors selected to take part in second stage. This sum which is intended to be

reimbursed to them for the additional work carried out in the second stage shall be

stated in the conditions for the competition and should be in addition to the prize money.

4. Anonymity

The anonymity of the competitors shall be maintained until the final award of the jury and

in the interest of the competition, rigorous measures shall be taken to ensure that this

principle is adhered to. No competitor shall terminate his anonymity in any way

whatsoever till the final award. The anonymity of each competitor shall be guaranteed by

adopting suitable measures.

5. Copyright and right of ownership

i. Each competitor shall retain copyright in his own competition design.

ii. The competition design awarded the first prize only shall be used by the promoter upon

commissioning by him the author of the said design to render professional services to

carry out the project.

iii. No other design shall be used wholly or in part by the promoter.

iv. The promoter's right on the design awarded the first prize or the designs selected covers

one execution only. The competition conditions however may provide for repetitive work

and shall specify the terms thereof.

v. Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his design.

6. Insurance

The promoter shall insure for damage or loss by fire, floods, or by any other reason

Competitor's design drawings submitted in competition when he assumes responsibility

for them and for the duration of his responsibility and also for loss during transit when

the design drawings are being returned to the competitor. The amount of such insurance

shall be stated in the competition conditions.

7. Competition time table

i. The notice of competition shall clearly indicate the last date for application for the

competition conditions and the last date for submission of the design drawings.

ii. The conditions of the competition shall clearly indicate:

The last date for submission of questions.

Approximate date when the answers to the questions will be sent to the competitors.

The final date and time for the receipt of the same by the promoter.

iii. The competition time table shall under no circumstances be shortened.

iv. The jury shall decide upon the judging dates at the early stage of the competition and

the date of announcement of the awards shall also be included in the conditions of the

competition.

In case of two stage competitions however the conditions of competition shall indicate

dates limited to the first stage only.

All the dates in respect of the second stage shall form part of the conditions with

reference to the second stage.

v. In case of unavoidable delay in judging, a new date shall be fixed by the jury which shall

be confirmed by all its members and publicly announced.

8. Cost estimates

The competitors may be required to submit cost estimate of their design on areas or

volume basis. The cost estimate shall however not be a determining factor in the jury’s

decision accepts where cost limits have to be rigidly imposed and is so stated in the

competition conditions. The issue of cost estimates shall be mentioned in the Terms of

Reference prepared by the jury promoter/ jury members.

9. Termination of the competition

The promoter may terminate the competition if in the opinion of the jury none of the

competition designs could be declared as a winning entry. In this event the promoter

under the advice of the jury shall award second, third and additional prizes as declared

and none of the competitors will be considered for appointment as the architect for the

project and the promoter will not be liable to make any further payments to any of the

competitors.

10. Appointment of architect

i. The award of the first prize to the competition design places the promoter under an

obligation to appoint its author as the architect for the commissioning of the project. The

promoter shall pay the architect fees as per the prevailing trend. (the award money shall

not be included in the fees)

ii. If the jury shall be satisfied that there is a valid objection to the appointment of the author

of the winning design as the architect may be required to associate with a senior

architect or a firm of architects of his/her choice whose qualifications shall be approved

by the jury. Failing this the design placed next on merit shall be selected for

commissioning and its author shall be appointed as the architect subject to similar

conditions. In the case of necessity of the award winning architect associating with

another architect or firm, SONA shall act as a coordinator regarding the issues of fees

and scope of works in individual basis.

The award of the jury shall not be varied for any reasons.

iii. If no instructions are given to the author of the design selected by the Assessor to

proceed within twelve months from the date of the award, then he/she shall receive

payment for his services in connection with the preparation of the Competition drawings

of a sum equal to 1.00 percent on the amount of the estimated cost. The first premium

shall be deducted from the sum so paid. If the work is subsequently proceeded with, this

sum shall from part of his ultimate fee.

If within twelve months of the award, the promoters shall decide to proceed with part of

the work only, the author of the selected design shall be paid including the premium and

in addition to the scale of fees on the work, which is being carried out a sum equal to

1.00 percent on the difference between the cost of the work carried out and his estimate

of cost of the total project which sum shall also merge into the commission when the

remainder of the work is subsequently executed.

iv. The selected Architect having been appointed to carry out the work shall be paid in

accordance with the Schedule of Charges determined and published by the Society of

Nepalese Architects (SONA) in consultation with the Promoters, and the premium

already paid shall be deemed to be a payment on account.

11. Exhibition of entries

i. All competition designs including those disqualified by the jury shall be exhibited for at

least one week together with a copy of the signed report of the jury. The exhibition shall

be open to public free of charge.

ii. The promoter shall notify all the competitors and shall also announce in suitable media

the days and place of the public exhibition of the competition.

iii. The promoters shall submit to the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) a copy of the

signed report of the jury and if requested photographs of the designs for possible

publication.

12. Return of design drawings

All drawings, plans, models etc. submitted by the competitor except those of the winning

design shall be returned by the promoter at the end of the public exhibition at his/her

own cost. The drawings, plans, models of the winning design shall be returned to its

author on being appointed as the architect for the project or after six months from the

date of announcement of the award by the jury whichever is early.

Schedule 4

The jury

1. The jury shall be set up before the promotion of the competition. Their names and those of

the reserve members of the board, if any shall be stated in the competition conditions.

2. The jury shall be composed of a smallest reasonable number of assessors which number

shall be an odd figure.

3. The size of the jury shall depend upon the size of the competition project and preferably the

number of jurors shall not exceed seven.

4. Of the total number of jurors the number of jurors who shall be Architects and registered with

the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) shall be in a majority of at least one.

5. The number of jurors representing the promoters shall not exceed two.

6. Each member of the jury shall examine and approve the competition conditions before they

are made available to the competitors.

7. The jury may invite Technical Advisers as experts in specialised fields to assist in the

assessment of competition entries. Such Technical Advisors shall not have any voting

rights.

8. It is essential that at least 2/3rd of the voting members of the jury shall be present at all

meetings of the jury. The jury shall elect a Chairperson from among its members.

9. In the event of death of an juror before or during the assessment of the competition or

his/her inability to continue to act on account of illness or any other cause, another juror

shall be appointed in his/her place by the promoters without affecting the majority of at least

one, of the jurors who are Architects and registered with the Society of Nepalese Architects

(SONA).

10. No promoter of the competition and no jurors nor any partner, associate, or employee of

either shall compete or assist a competitor, or act as architect or joint architect for the

project.

This regulation shall not be applicable to:

a. Staff or present students of an Institution of which a member of the regular teaching staff

is on the jury provided he/she is not the sole juror and the jury consists of two or more

jurors of whom only one is a member of the teaching staff of this or any other Institution.

b. Employees of a Government, Semi-Government or a Public Sector organisation of which

one of its employees is on the jury provided he/she is not the sole juror and the jury

consists of three or more jurors of whom only one is such an employee.

11. In two stage competitions, the same members of the jury shall judge both stages of the

competition. In no case may a competition as a single stage competition proceed to a

second stage except with knowledge of the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) and

arrangement for payment of appropriate honoraria to the competitors involved, over and

above the prize money provided for in the original competition. In the event of such a

secondary competition taking place, the jury appointed for the original competition must be

reappointed by the promoters.

12. Any drawings, photographs, models or other documents not required by the competition

condition shall be excluded by the jury before examining the competitors' entries.

13. The jury shall disqualify any design which does not conform to any of the conditions,

instructions or requirements of the competition.

14. The jury must make an award. The award shall be final and shall be made public in open

competitions, and intimated individually to all those participating in limited competition, by a

date stated in the conditions. The jury when distributing the award money shall make full use

of the amounts set aside for prizes in the competition conditions. In an ideas competition, a

first prize shall be awarded.

15. The decision of the jury shall be taken by a majority vote with a separate vote on each entry.

The award including the jurors’ report to the promoter shall be signed by all the members of

the jury before they disperse.

16. The decision of the jury regarding selection and placement of competition design shall be

final and binding on the promoter and all competitors and shall be reached by a majority.

17. The jury will make its award known to the promoter in a formal statement signed by at least

a simple majority of its members. The statement will indicate the number of designs

examined and the order of the prizes awarded. This statement must be completed before

the envelopes are opened and the jurors disperse.

18. The fees, travel expenses and out of pocket expenses of the members of the jury shall be

paid by the promoter.

Schedule 5

Prizes and honoraria

At the time of Agreement of SONA and the promoter, the total prize money shall be fixed to 1%

of the total project cost (estimated on the basis of prevailing construction rate of the market).

This amount is only for the award purpose and the total fees for commissioning the project shall

be dealt separately between the award winning architect and the promoter which undoubtedly

will be based on the prevailing market rates. This agreed amount shall be used for prizes and

honoraries to the participants only. The total amount shall be divided accordingly by SONA

depending upon how many participants shall be awarded. The organizing cost shall be dealt

separately between SONA and the promoter